Track Every Dollar
Nebraska: every school dollar
Where Nebraska's public school money comes from, where it goes, what Washington sends, and how the state spends its lottery money. Select any line for more.
- Public school money, 2023-24$6.1 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$16,147U.S.: $17,619
- Students328,649261 school systems
- Lottery money to education$20.1 millionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$6.1 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $639 million10.5%
Inside the federal total: $205 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $2.1 billion33.6%
Local $3.4 billion55.9%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024. School year 2023-24. census.gov the data file
Where it goes
$6.1 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $2.9 billion in salaries and wages, $1.2 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $4.5 billion.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024. School year 2023-24. census.gov the data file
Spending per student over time
Not adjusted for inflation. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 20. summary tables
What Washington committed
Department of Education money committed for use in Nebraska in fiscal year 2025: $533 million. The programs below include money from Agriculture (school meals) and Health and Human Services (Head Start), and college aid (Pell).
Why this differs from the federal line above: that line is what Nebraska's schools received in the 2023-24 school year (Census). This one is what Washington committed in a later federal year, including college aid, which schools never receive.
| Program | What it is | Nebraska | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $196 million | 0.5% |
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $176 million | 0.6% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $86.3 million | 0.6% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $86.3 million | 0.5% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $80.4 million | 0.7% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $29.3 million | 1.9% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $11.3 million | 0.5% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $8.3 million | 0.6% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $6.9 million | 0.5% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $6.6 million | 0.5% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $6.3 million | 0.6% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $5.1 million | 0.6% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $4.4 million | 0.5% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $2.3 million | 0.6% |
Source: USAspending.gov, U.S. Department of the Treasury. Federal fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), money committed (obligated) by state where it is used. usaspending.gov
How is Nebraska spending the education lottery money?
Nebraska law sends the first $500,000 of transferable proceeds to the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund, then 44.5 percent to education (distributed under Neb. Rev. Stat. 79-3501), 44.5 percent to the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, 10 percent to the Nebraska State Fair Board and 1 percent to the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund. The lottery began in 1993.
What the law says
The promise: 44.5 percent of the money remaining after prizes, operating expenses and the first $500,000 to the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund. Total transfers must equal the greater of the FY2002-03 amount or 22 to 25 percent of annualized ticket sales.
"(b) Forty-four and one-half percent of the money remaining after the payment of prizes and operating expenses and the initial transfer to the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be used for education and transferred pursuant to section 79-3501 ;"
Neb. Rev. Stat. 9-812(3)(b); Neb. Const. art. III, sec. 24 nebraskalegislature.gov
- Tickets sold$185 million p. 17
- Prizes 59%$109 million p. 17
- Retailers 6%$11.9 million p. 15
- Running the lottery 2%$2.8 million p. 17
- Sent to the state for its programs 25%$45.7 million p. 17
- Other costs and reserves 9%$16.0 million tickets sold minus the rows above
- Of what was sent to the state, to education$20.1 million p. 34
Of every dollar of Nebraska lottery tickets sold in FY2025, 11 cents reached education.
What it paid for, FY2025
Payments made during the year. They include money earned in earlier years, so they do not add up to the year's total sent to education.
- Nebraska Opportunity Grant Fund$11.7 million p. 34
- Education Innovative Grant Fund$2.0 million p. 34
- Excellence in Teaching Cash Fund$1.6 million p. 34
- Behavioral Training Cash Fund$1.6 million p. 34
- Community College GAP Assistance Program Fund$1.4 million p. 34
- Distance Education Incentives$603,401 p. 34
- College Pathway Program Cash Fund$402,267 p. 34
- Expanded Learning Opportunity Grant Fund$301,700 p. 34
- Mental Health Training Cash Fund$301,700 p. 34
- Door to College Scholarship Fund$201,135 p. 34
- Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund (not education)$20.1 million p. 34
- Nebraska State Fair Support and Improvement Cash Fund (not education)$4.5 million p. 34
- Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund (not education)$951,986 p. 34
Lottery money to education by year
What auditors found
"we noted that the Lottery did not consider winnings from “identical wagers” for purposes of reporting and withholding requirements. As a result, the Lottery did not withhold taxes and file tax forms when required."
Every school system in Nebraska
261 school systems reported to the Census Bureau for 2023-24. See each one's money in and money out.
The record
- School money: Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024, U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances. The district totals for Nebraska were added up and checked against the Census state table on seven totals. census.gov
- Federal money: Federal education spending, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Money committed, by the state where it is used. usaspending.gov
- Lottery: Audit Report of the Nebraska Lottery, July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts, 2025-10-20. auditors.nebraska.gov
- Lottery: Neb. Rev. Stat. 9-812, Nebraska Legislature. nebraskalegislature.gov
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
Take it with you
Track Every Dollar
How is Nebraska spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$6.1 billion
- Spent per student$16,147
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$20.1 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold11 cents to education
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